UNESCO Biosphere Reserves increase human-nature connection for sustainable development through participatory dialogue and knowledge sharing.

We are going to explore how to include citizens in participatory data collection and analysis. Data might be collected for research purposes but also to support the biosphere reserves management.  

One concept that we will deepen in this regard is citizen science. "Citizen science actively involves the public in scientific research that generates new knowledge or understanding, and thus has the potential to bring together science, policy makers, and society as a whole in an impactful way. As a core dimension of Open Science, it opens up the opportunity for all members of society to take an active role in research, innovation and the development of evidence-based policy, at local, national and EU levels. Citizen scientists can participate in many stages of the scientific process, from data collection and volunteer mapping, through data interpretation and analysis, to publication and dissemination of results."

UNESCO Biosphere Reserves are unique places for innovative sustainability research and partnerships. According to the Lima Action Plan, biosphere reserves can play a significant role in sustainability research, e.g., by serving as living labs to understand and monitor social-environmental changes, by providing infrastructure to the development of research activities, by collaborating with research institutions in the development of projects, and by undertaking research to inform their own management plans.

In 2022, the Biosphere Reserves Institute of the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development organized the International Conference on “Science and Research in, for and with UNESCO Biosphere Reserves”. In this conference, more than 100 participants from 46 countries jointly developed the “Eberswalde Declaration” a proposal to strengthen science, Indigenous and other knowledge systems, as well as research in, for, and with UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. In 2022, the Eberswalde Declaration was presented to and endorsed by the International Coordinating Council of the UNESCO “Man and the Biosphere” (MAB) Programme.

In February 2024, the Biosphere Reserves Institute organized the Workshop “Research in European UNESCO Biosphere Reserves” that brought together 30 participants, including researchers and practitioners from 16 countries and different biosphere reserves. It promoted networking and learning on biosphere reserves’ research progress, gaps and collaborations, and data accessibility/management. A key output of this event was the decision to organize a follow-up workshop dedicated to research strategies in biosphere reserves. This workshop, jointly organised with the University of Natural Resources and Life Science Vienna (BOKU), took place at the 2024 EuroMAB conference: "Promoting impactful research in Biosphere Reserves in the context of a changing climate – Good practices to develop research strategies”. This February 2025 workshop also aims to reflect on the main results that were achieved, and contribute to further develop the research guidelines.